It got the front page in the local San Diego paper over the weekend. A black member of the (segregated) Yorktown crew is alive and doing well at 91 here in SD. He and numerous others abandoned ship for the second time, when having reboarded and got it almost sitting level it was hit by two more torpedoes.

Ron, good post. I think about this kinda thing all the time. Not only from the war perspective- like aviation back then with a compass and a huge set of balls for example (not to mention having people shooting at you), but also other things like people riding bikes to Nome in the winter during the gold rush, etc. People did all kinds of crazy sh#t back then; if people were doing the same things now they would just have to be sponsored by cliff bar or something for such feats.
I think that people were just way more hardcore back then. What happened? haha

The code breakers.
Garbled radio messages from recon aircraft.
Halsey ill, so Spruance gets the call.
The Japanese fleet divides into three battle groups.
Superhuman effort putting band aids on the Yorktown.
Nagumo's indecision and bad call.
Serendipity when the US air attacks simultaneously hit the Japanese carriers.
Spruance knowing when to call it good.

Amazing event. The turning point in the Pacific. Two months later Stalingrad starts. The beginning of the end for the Axis.

Professor David Mindell of the Program in Science, Technology and Society Program (STS) was a member of the search and survey team on the National Geographic Midway expedition that discovered the USS Yorktown more than three miles deep in the Pacific Ocean on May 19. (1998)

Dr. Mindell and the scientific team used video and sonar technology to take sound "pictures" of the ocean floor and locate the ship, sunk during the Battle of Midway some 56 years ago. The National Geographic expedition was led by Dr. Robert Ballard, discoverer of the Titanic wreck, with the goal of locating, mapping, exploring and photographing the ship.

Midway was tough. It never ceases to amaze me how much "dumb luck", chance and bad judgment figures into war history and outcome (not discounting bravery and sacrifice).

The Naval Battle during the Invasion of Leyte was as tough and as deadly. If not for some extreme bravery and heroics performed by some out-matched American Destroyers the Japanese could have easily wiped out the Invasion Force and Carriers. Mix in the "dumb luck", chance and poor decisions and you have another epic.

As he led his platoon in a flanking maneuver, three German machine guns opened fire from covered positions just 40 yards away, pinning his men to the ground. Inouye stood up to attack and was shot in the stomach; ignoring his wound, he proceeded to attack and destroy the first machine gun nest with hand grenades and fire from his M1 Thompson submachine gun. After being informed of the severity of his wound by his platoon sergeant, he refused treatment and rallied his men for an attack on the second machine gun position, which he also successfully destroyed before collapsing from blood loss.

As his squad distracted the third machine gunner, Inouye crawled toward the final bunker, eventually drawing within 10 yards. As he raised himself up and cocked his arm to throw his last grenade into the fighting position, a German inside fired a rifle grenade that struck him on the right elbow, severing most of his arm and leaving his own primed grenade reflexively "clenched in a fist that suddenly didn't belong to me anymore".[10] Inouye's horrified soldiers moved to his aid, but he shouted for them to keep back out of fear his severed fist would involuntarily relax and drop the grenade. As the German inside the bunker reloaded his rifle, Inouye managed to pry the live grenade from his useless right hand and transfer it to his left. As the German aimed his rifle to finish him off, Inouye managed at last to toss the grenade off-hand into the bunker and destroy it. He stumbled to his feet and continued forward, silencing the last German resistance with a one-handed burst from his Thompson before being wounded in the leg and tumbling unconscious to the bottom of the ridge. When he awoke to see the concerned men of his platoon hovering over him, his only comment before being carried away was to gruffly order them to return to their positions, since, as he pointed out, "nobody [had] called off the war!"[11]

The Naval Battle during the Invasion of Leyte was as tough and as deadly.

The battle of Leyte Gulf is still the biggest naval battle in the history of the world. My father flew F6F Hellcats off the USS Enterprise in that fight--as part of the 75 combat missions he flew on his tour of duty with Air Group 20.

Well now we are bouncing all over the place. I was thinking about an anniversary of a most pivotal point.
But I gotta admit that Cragman makes a good recommend.
One of my favorite parts in Tin Can Sailors was Blue Archer becoming the first person to attack an 80,000 ton battleship with a .38 special.